TORONTO (AP) — Andray Blatche is confident the Brooklyn Nets have found the “recipe” they need to beat the Toronto Raptors. And that’s not all.
Riding high after a big win in Game 6, Blatche cooked up controversy by guaranteeing the Nets will win their first-round series with a Game 7 victory in Toronto on Sunday.
The Nets, who nearly overturned a 26-point deficit with a 44-point fourth quarter in Game 5, carried that momentum into Friday night’s must-win meeting in Brooklyn, staving off elimination by jumping out to a 34-19 lead and limiting the Raptors to a series-low 83 points.
That had Blatche boasting that Brooklyn would soon be settling into a second-round series against the two-time defending champion Miami Heat.
“We guarantee it,” Blatche said after Friday’s game. “We’re gonna go there (Sunday), take care of business and go to Miami.”